During opening statements on Friday, prosecutors told jurors that they would hear from an acquaintance of defendant Michael Johnson, who would tell them that he saw Barnes' body on the bed of an apartment where Johnson lived the day she disappeared.

Prosecutors said Johnson called the witness to come to the northwest Baltimore apartment where Barnes was staying with her sister, Deena.

"(He) says there was a body on the bed, the body of Phylicia Barnes," the prosecutor told jurors.

The witness testimony was the first public knowledge of any such evidence, 11 News I-Team lead investigative reporter Jayne Miller said.

It may be the strongest evidence prosecutors have to link Johnson to Barnes' death. But Johnson's lawyers told jurors the witness didn't come forward until June of this year and can't be believed.

"The witness is a jailhouse snitch, a liar by all accounts who doesn't know anything," the defense said.

Prosecutors hinted at a love triangle being involved in the case.

They painted Johnson as a flirtatious, unfaithful boyfriend to Deena. Prosecutors said they plan to use a video that shows Johnson being intimate with Deena while locking eyes with Phylicia.

But defense lawyers argued there's no evidence to link Johnson to any foul play.

"This case is not about sex, lies and videotape. It's not about promiscuity. This is about a tragic loss of a young woman's life, and the state rushed to judgment," the defense said.

Barnes' other sister, Kelley, testified Friday. Defense lawyers used her statements to police to show that Johnson is not the person she first suspected of doing harm to the 16-year-old.

Johnson is accused of killing the 16-year-old Barnes in December 2010 while she was visiting family in Baltimore.

Barnes' body was found in the Susquehanna River in Cecil County four months after she disappeared. Johnson was arrested a year later and charged with murder.